“…Phew.”
Mo Yeon, whose eyes had been dazzled by the sun, looked at the park scenery with a more relaxed face. Being the weekend, there seemed to be quite a lot of people out for a run.
Besides them, there were people walking their dogs and families out for picnics.
“But it feels good, right?”
Mo Yeon nodded. Although he had complained about how difficult it was just moments ago, honestly, it felt good.
“I’ve always liked being in the sunlight.”
“Seems that way.”
When Mo Yeon readily agreed, Tae Young-won smiled brightly. He seemed quite pleased that Mo Yeon had discovered a new pleasure.
He even gently wiped away the beads of sweat with the back of his hand. Feeling a bit ticklish in broad daylight, Mo Yeon unconsciously avoided his hand. Then he flinched unexpectedly.
Glancing carefully, fortunately, Tae Young-won didn’t seem to mind much.
“Well, well.”
Of course. If Tae Young-won were hurt by such actions from Mo Yeon, he wouldn’t be Tae Young-won. But for some reason, Mo Yeon felt a bit concerned.
Although he probably hadn’t run even a quarter of what Tae Young-won usually ran, the two sat on stone steps for a long time, watching people and taking a walk.
Seeing the duck family by the river was especially the most fascinating experience.
They were on the way to the grassy area across the bike path, where bicycles were zooming by, making it quite an unsafe situation.
Mo Yeon couldn’t take his eyes off the scene. Just as he thought he should get up, Tae Young-won, who had risen first, strode forward.
After that, Tae Young-won safely blocked the way until the duck family had crossed the road completely. For the first time, Mo Yeon turned on his phone camera and took pictures of Tae Young-won.
Squatting in front of the waddling mother duck, Tae Young-won noticed Mo Yeon and casually made a V sign with his hand.
The upturned corner of his mouth, the eyes constantly checking on him—Mo Yeon captured more than ten photos. Watching him strike various poses so shamelessly afterward, Mo Yeon couldn’t help but burst into laughter like a fool.
Afterward, he rubbed his cheeks for a long time. Showing his teeth while laughing in broad daylight was something that had probably happened only twice in Mo Yeon’s life.
Since he wasn’t normally expressive, his facial muscles tightened, making it difficult to keep smiling. Plus, there was an itchy feeling in one side of his chest. It felt strange, so he couldn’t continue laughing.
Above all, his appearance seemed completely the same as others. Mo Yeon still found it a bit difficult to adjust to that.
After the outing, which was more enjoyable than expected, they entered a random restaurant that was packed with people. Since they had waited quite a while to get in, it must have been quite popular.
After finishing their meal and leaving the restaurant, Mo Yeon casually asked:
“Are there always this many people out on weekends?”
The question sounded quite antisocial, but since Tae Young-won obviously knew he was antisocial, Mo Yeon was confident. And indeed, Tae Young-won answered calmly as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Yes, and the weather is nice today, too.”
Well, the weather was really nice today. The sunlight was just right, and there was a gentle breeze.
“I didn’t know.”
“Ah.”
“Ah?”
Before he knew it, something round entered his automatically opened mouth. When the hard sphere touched his tongue, he tasted something sticky and sweet.
“It’s strawberry flavor.”
When Mo Yeon looked at him with surprised eyes, Tae Young-won playfully winked. Then he unwrapped an identical candy, put it in his mouth, held Mo Yeon’s hand, and continued walking.
While allowing his hand to be held, Mo Yeon kept glancing at him.
With one cheek bulging, Mo Yeon stiffened his face once more.
‘It’s hot.’
His ears were indeed hot. Pressing his hot earlobe with his palm, Mo Yeon vaguely thought.
Perhaps the color of his ears now matched the strawberry candy he was eating…
After returning from their outing, Mo Yeon’s eyes were busier than ever. His fingers were the same.
Click-clack. Click.
Tae Young-won had just gone into the bathroom to shower. Feeling rushed to finish before he came out, Mo Yeon was anxious.
“Just.”
“…”
“Now I’m even jealous of that.”
No matter how much he thought about it, those words from that time bothered him, so he felt he needed to look into it. The timing was perfect now that Tae Young-won had stepped away.
Searching for keywords like ‘jealousy’ and ‘reasons for jealousy,’ a certain post caught Mo Yeon’s eye.
[My girlfriend’s jealousy has become too severe]
Mo Yeon clicked on the title as if drawn to it. Feeling a kind of tension he wasn’t aware of, Mo Yeon swallowed dryly.
[We’ve been dating since senior year of high school, but after going to college, my girlfriend’s jealousy has gotten too severe… Now she even makes unreasonable claims like asking if I like games more than her. I like my girlfriend just as much… I have been playing a lot of games lately, should I cut back? She gets upset whenever there’s a drinking gathering, I’m going crazy]
“Hmm…”
Mo Yeon neither attended drinking gatherings nor played games. Oh, he had been absorbed in dramas lately, though.
Until now, Mo Yeon hadn’t realized at all, but looking at it now, it seemed many couples experienced jealousy issues. He slowly looked through other posts, gathering information about jealousy.
According to what Mo Yeon found, the psychology of someone jealous toward their lover was as follows:
A childish psychology that demands exclusive attention because they like the other person so much.
And feeling disappointment when the other person doesn’t comply, which manifests as jealousy.
‘If you embrace your lover’s cute jealousy, the other person will feel even deeper confirmation of love…’
In short, it was because they liked you too much.
Upon reaching that conclusion, he got goosebumps. He rubbed his ears, which had become unnecessarily hot.
But one problem remained.
So, what should you do when your lover is jealous…?
He briefly saw advice saying ‘Stay away from all male and female friends,’ but that wasn’t helpful to Mo Yeon at all. This was because Mo Yeon had no friends to begin with.
Come to think of it, right?
Mo Yeon barely had anyone around him. Even the few people he had meals with at school were all people he met through Tae Young-won.
Nevertheless, Tae Young-won was now jealous. Even to the point of being jealous of his own ‘masculine energy.’
Only then did Mo Yeon realize.
Tae Young-won was actually an extremely jealous person…
Yes, that’s why even before Mo Yeon was aware of his own feelings, Tae Young-won had insisted that sleeping with other men was absolutely forbidden.
“Stop emanating masculine energy, you male bastards!”
He had even shouted that in the middle of campus.
Recalling the past days, Mo Yeon unconsciously let out a laugh.
He also felt like they had taken quite a foolish detour.
[Express gratitude and love frequently.]
Reading that sentence repeatedly, Mo Yeon fell into thought.
Such expressions until now…
Buzz.
“…”
At that moment, an unexpected vibration sound was heard.
Checking the unsaved number, Mo Yeon immediately sighed.
Although not saved, the owner of the familiar number was Mo Yeon’s older brother.
“Hello.”
“What have you been doing? You weren’t home yesterday.”
Mo Yeon’s eyes widened.
When did he come and go? Recently, Mo Yeon had barely been at his own place, staying almost exclusively at Tae Young-won’s.
Mo Yeon answered in a monotone voice.
“It’s exam period these days, so I often pull all-nighters at the library.”
“Ah.”
“What’s the matter?”
His business wasn’t anything special. His mother was looking for him, so he wanted Mo Yeon to come to the family home after a long time.
Mo Yeon’s heart sank, wondering if they had found out about his leave of absence or his visit to Seokdam Temple, but that wasn’t the case.
“I’m busy with exams right now.”
“Hmm… but you still need to come.”
“Why?”
“This weekend is Father’s birthday. That’s why he asked me to call you.”
Mo Yeon frowned.
Among his family members, his father was by far the worst. Even when his mother took young Mo Yeon around trying to “fix” him, his father did nothing. Mo Yeon had never once seen a warm smile from his father. They had barely had proper conversations.
From Mo Yeon’s perspective, it seemed his father wanted to erase Mo Yeon’s existence from the family the most.
Though he hardly felt such wounds anymore, he couldn’t help feeling tired from such calls.
“Even during exam periods, you still eat dinner. Don’t be complicated every year, just stop by briefly.”
“…”
To think he had to go celebrate the birthday of someone who never even looked for him. It would clearly be a picture only his mother and brother wanted.
Mo Yeon bit his lip firmly.
“I told you before, fulfill your minimum obligations.”
Mo Yeon wanted to ask whether they had fulfilled their minimum obligations to him.
“I know you have complaints, but think about your brother’s position too. At times like this, think about who makes it possible for you to attend school comfortably, that would help you too.”
“…”
“You need spending money too.”
“Give me double.”
An incredulous laugh was heard, but Mo Yeon stared into space with even more intensity.
“That would be difficult.”
“I’m staying up late these days, so my energy is low and I don’t have much time.”
“Come and get it.”
Sighing deeply, Mo Yeon irritably put down the phone from his ear, ending the call.
“I really hate this.”
“Hello?”
“…”
It wasn’t disconnected yet. Bringing the phone back to his ear, he heard his brother’s even colder sigh.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
